Living in Fear: Perennial Wars

        Working in healthcare gives you enough opportunity to get acquainted with the panic, fear, chaos and death but it all happens in sort of civilized and controlled environment. No matter how composed you consider yourself, things tend to go out of control more often than you can imagine. The world around us seems to me crumbling upon itself but are thing actually as bad as it appears on news channels. For all those who have not seen the chaos inside these riots happening around us...I would pray that they never get to see it and for those who had...maybe even god cannot do enough for them. 

          The riots and lawlessness gripping the national capital region is probably the worst thing that has happened in recent times. Hearts drenched in fear, eyes oozing with sorrow, the tragic first person accounts and all that negativity smeared over the media, it gives me chills. I thought I could feel their pain but I was mistaken.

         I watched a movie today which I did not know existed till now and it shook me. This movie ‘Firaaq’ depicts the aftermath of Gujarat riots without being politically biased and it is spot on. You have to watch it to feel these riots from the inside and how they affected the lives of thousands of innocent people who had nothing to do with the violence. This movie is an honest attempt to sensitize the masses and the powerful performances of exceptional actors makes it believable. I would recommend this movie to each and everyone because if it cannot move you...nothing will and that would be the ultimate doomsday, the end of civilization. 

दुनिया में कितना ग़म है, मेरा ग़म कितना कम है ;

जलता वो घर मेरा है नहीं, ये पागलपन मेरा भ्रम है ;

हम लाख सही पर एक हैं हम, तन्हा होकर हम क्या हम हैं ;

के आओ थाम लें हम हाथ उनका, जिनकी गुम है हँसी और आँखें नम है ||

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. This week’s WOW prompt is – ‘My Doomsday Moment’

Sharma MD: A Medico TV Series

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set,

I go into the other room and read a book”

                                                                                                 -Groucho Marx

           It is true that a visual impression lasts longer in our memory than audio or texts but I doubt everything we see is worth retaining. It looks like the technology took the supersonic jet towards innovation but content somehow missed the flight. TV is called the ‘idiot box’ for a reason and I bet it has something to do with the shows. Nowadays, we have a plethora of TV channels which we can flip through for hours but only a few that can give some rest to the remote. I love the fast paced, content driven shows with least amount of excess baggage and the typically nice ones would include the following:

1. The crime thriller classic- Castle

2. History & Mythology shows on Epic- Devlok, Epicgrams etc

3. The ones with positive vibes- Zindagi isi ka naam hai hosted by Amitabh Bachchan himself

4. Almost anything on Natgeo- Genius

5. Sci-fi & fantasy- Agents of shield

If I Could Create A TV Show...

If I could make a TV show it would definitely be a story set in an Indian hospital. We have seen some classics on English television like House MD and Greys anatomy but none on Indian channels. Long time back a show called ‘sanjivani’ was born but it soon turned into the same old love triangle and sas-bahu drama. I really crave for a medico show with realistic characters and believable situations. I think the real Indian doctor has never been portrayed on TV and their poor brand image as projected in biased media reports is making the situation worse. Most of the times the good work fails to come out of the gremlin-stricken facade and the incessant efforts of the doctors remains unappreciated. We only get to see the MunnaBhais (funny but unreal) and the money hungry goons in ‘Gabbar is back’ and the media never misses an opportunity to paint an ugly picture on their face. I guess the Idiot box is getting sicker and we should call a doctor before it’s too late. I can only imagine the possibilities...the comic scenarios, the clinical cases, the intense drama, emotional turmoil, the twists & turns and the ironies...all concentrated in a single show. 

Why a Medico TV show should be made?

- It’s a novel concept on Indian television and it has never been seen.

- It’s intriguing and intellectual shows are anyway scarce on the Idiot box.

- Who wouldn’t like an intense series with the script in main lead and may be a comic twist?

- It has the potential to become the next big thing on TV.

- It is required to portray the real life of a medico and create a positive image.

- We all need a break from the ‘ichchadhari nevla’.

           The list may go on forever but I don’t need any more reasons to make a TV show out of it and if I could ever make it a reality.....I will.

I hope you like it:-)

            This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. This week’s WOW prompt is – ‘If I Could Create A TV Show’.

World Without Internet: World War Invisible

World Without Internet: World War Invisible

            When Maslow published the celebrated theory of 'hierarchy of needs' way back in 1943, he brought human motivation to the forefront of psychology. Being an important milestone, it is still an integral part of management curriculum even today (yes, that’s how I know about it). Interestingly, the first commercial computer ever built was launched in 1950; yes, a long 7 years after the theory came out and it was much later when they really picked up. At that time, internet was not even a remote concept and the first email could only be sent in the year 1971. The World Wide Web in its recognizable form made its debut only in the 90s (the 90s was truly the golden age) with the first search engines appearing in the mid 90s. On April 30, 1993 CERN's directors (the pioneers of internet) made a statement that was a true milestone in Internet history. On this day, they declared that WWW technology would be freely usable by anyone, with no fees being payable to CERN. Isn’t it great, I wonder if they imagined internet to become what it is today and if they did and gave it away, they were as cool & amazing as the internet itself (Much like Dr. Jonas Salk-The inventor of polio vaccine or may be even greater). The omnipresent Google started only as a PhD project and was incorporated as a privately held company less than 20 years ago in 1998. It is astonishing how the internet has permeated through our lives in such a short span of time. If Maslow had given his theory now, it would more look like this...

Source Here

              Even otherwise, in present times the higher needs on Maslow’s pyramid like Love & belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization are attained through virtual selves of our real lives on social networks. Its roots have grown so deep that it is practically impossible to conceive a world without the internet and its frills and most would not even dare to think of it as a possibility. You can peak into the chaos of a life without internet in the movie Die hard 4. Internet has become an inseparable part of our routines and without it millions would have missed many things and many would have missed millions (pun intended). The internet has catapulted many to the heights of fame and money, be it a loner who happened to upload a top YouTube video/ a trending tweet or a nerd who ended up founding a multi-million dollar app or company (with all due respect to both) like google, Amazon, Facebook, eBay, Oyo-rooms, flip-kart, snap-deal, whatsapp, Instagram and many more whom I am not naming just to prevent this list from becoming too exhaustive but it was not always like that.

Doc2poet

             There was a time when prodigious things happened on our very own soil without going online. We erected the world’s first university ‘The Nalanda University’ which remained a center of learning from the fifth century to 1200 AD and imparted education on subjects as diverse as the Vedas, Logic, Grammar, Philology, Medicine, Samkhya, law, astronomy, and city-planning etc. The university even had a foreign exchange program for scholars from other countries and internet was not even on the horizon. We have the richest legacy of literature which also includes some of the oldest of texts like the Arthshastra, the charak samhita, the shushrut samhita, the Vedas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and I bet they were not googled or copy-pasted. Even the technology flourished without internet and the rust-free Iron pillar in Delhi will tell you the tale. We have even won innumerable wars with sheer courage and tactics and drones came later. In short, life was splendid and awe-inspiring in India as evident from the ruins of Indus valley civilization, when others may have just been hunting deer or mammoth at max. We were much ahead of the times when modern technology took over the world and we were reduced to mere consumers. 

               We have been enslaved by the internet and the difficult part is that we don’t even want to break free. So, let’s just keep our eyes closed for the moment and enjoy the view.

Hush Little laptop, Don’t you cry;

May god bless you, With some more wifi...

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. This week’s WOW prompt is – ‘A World Without Internet’

The Perfect Sunday: Recipe

                                                                         PREP TIME
                                                              Extempore or up to 6 days

                                                                         COOK TIME
                                                                             1 day
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

A PERFECT SUNDAY – all spiced up that can be had plain or served with spouse or buddies.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

AUTHOR: doc2poet

RECIPE TYPE: Main

CUISINE:  Indian

SERVES: 1 but tastes better with 2-3

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

INGREDIENTS (cup not used, all measurements are relative only)

For preparation:

• 1 alarm clock= lose it
• 1 phone handset= switch it off or at least put it on silent mode
•  1 pamper your spouse 1 day prior to set the stage for the big day
•  ¼ Get everything you need for Sunday breakfast in advance
• Call friends as required.

For tempering the fun:

•  1 do not disturb till I get up on my own
•  1 large cup of tea/coffee
•  ¼ newspaper
• ½ your favourite(current) book
• 1 laptop for scribbling something up on WOW post
•  a generous pinch of gaming console
•  ¼ visit to a serene, relatively unexplored historical site like Humayun’s tomb, Agrasen ki baoli or  Tuglakabad fort.
•  2-3 Catch up with friends
•   ¼ pre-dinner roadside snacks for starters
•  Finish it off either at a hip place like HKV with live music and beer or with a sumptuous finger-licking      Non-veg food at Old Delhi (Kareem’s etc)
• ¼ Late night walk with spouse/friends after an ice cream at India gate or faluda at Paharganj is    optional but highly recommended.

INSTRUCTIONS

Marinating overnight:

• Going to bed on Saturday night with the feeling that you don’t need to get up or be somewhere early is imperative to set the flavours for a perfect Sunday.

Setting the pace right:

• Start the day off with a lazy morning to sink it in, get in the groove after the breakfast and kick your brain with reading, writing or gaming etc. Keeping in mind that the body is still slothful, plan an outdoor activity like exploring a historical marvel in your neighbourhood. Lurking around in the feasty meadows of roadside lip smacking snacks will prime your salivary glands for the fine dining binge. Satiating all your senses will end the perfect Sunday on a high and leave you wanting for more. Having a perfect Sunday will impel you to take it one step further the very next weekend.

NOTE:

There is no single recipe for a perfect Sunday but a day well spent is all that matters and you can explore a new perfect Sunday every weekend.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

परिचय : #IamSpecial

मैं शायर तो नहीं , पर इन जज़्बात का इस काग़ज़ से ज़रूर कोई नाता है ;

के लोग समझ पाते नहीं जो एहसास, वो अनायास ही इसपर उतर आता है...

           Hi there, It's been some time here on blogosphere and I already feel like at home. I am enjoying writing more than ever and all the credit goes to the people who have been supporting me. So here's me and my blog. I am a doctor by profession currently based in Delhi, a blogger by choice & a poet at heart and my blog is basically everything that comes to my mind. I like poetry and it happens to find a place in my almost every post. You can say a lot in just a few words with poetry...just love it. My hindi poetry blog is here too https://doc2poet.wordpress.com/ .Here are a few ones about me:

पाँव ज़मीं पर नहीं मेरे,  के इन बादलों पे सवार हूँ मैं,

के मैं हूँ, और मेरी तन्हाई,  इस ज़माने के पार हूँ मैं,

मैं ये भी हूँ...मैं वो भी हूँ, के सीमित नहीं अपार हूँ मैं,

सीमित नहीं अपार हूँ मैं ||

I have also been scribbling enough to come up with one sketch or more but it takes a lot of time to create one.

           I have also been dueling with guitars but have not yet tamed any. I love music though and there is nothing better than feeling it live. As of now, I am not sure how this blog will turn out but one thing is certain...that you will be intrigued to read it. Please review my blog and keep in touch...Would love to hear from you.

To Blog is to create, to connect, to share & to inspire.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Million Dollar Dream

" चन्द  सिक्कों  पे  गुरूर  न  कर  ऐ  ग़ालिब, ये  वक़्त  की  रेत  में  खो जाया  करते  हैं "

           Million dollars is too big an amount to not make any difference and the mere thought of the possibilities that can turn into reality ‘If I had a million dollars’ just opens up the doorways to a new realm. But I believe that the best thing would be that I can continue to be me, the real me, the me I am now even, when I have a million dollars at my disposal. Of ‘course things would be a little more grand but the essence should remain the same. I love to travel, I relish writing, I enjoy my work, I cherish being part of charity and I crave for perfection in everything that I do. This is just a crux of what I am today and what I would like to be ‘If I had a million dollars’. 

         Another important aspect of this million dollar thought would be ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. We tend to spend each penny with caution when we have scarce resources but with a million dollars in our pocket it is upon us too to make each penny count. So let us just not be carried away with the weight of the bullion and try be true to our souls.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Wanderlust: Driving me crazy

                   They say the roads have answers for everything and a long drive is all we need to get them talking. Just the thought of “driving all night” takes me to the beautiful places that I have visited with my buddies. We must have adventures in order to know where we belong. Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind and a road trip with my best buddies is the perfect stress buster. It is true that road trips aren’t measured by mile markers but by memories that we make on the way and cherish them forever.

Grab the wheel and hit the road ,

Somewhere out there lays my abode ;

The road is my friend n journey my home ,

There’s no better feeling than exploring the unknown ;

Let me ride, let me cruise ,

Kill the chaos and Hit the snooze ;

'Coz Travel is eternal, journey is pure ,

Wanna see it all but time no more ;

Adore the nature, open the doors ,

Just let me drench when it pours ;

Driving is my passion and Wandering my fate ,

Just let me flow and let me peregrinate ;

Let me peregrinate...

My cheetah, My soul

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Dream, Desire, Inspire...

          

            When nobody celebrates you, learn to celebrate yourself. When nobody else compliments you, compliment yourself. It's not up to other people to keep you encouraged, to make you happy, it is only up to you. Encouragement should come from inside. Believe you can and you’re halfway there. Let your dreams flow and work your heart out to make them real. The limitations live only in our minds.  But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless. It is certainly true that we can become only what we aspire to be. The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely a tenacity. Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you do not try. Isn't it obvious that you will miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. There is a proverb in Chinese which says-

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

               So, act now. It is your best chance at success and you are not alone; you have your heart, your inspiration.

Dream big and dare to fail,

Hit the tides and you will sail,

Need help ; talk to your heart,

Make it your strength, master this art,

Don't look for inspiration in others,

You are the one, you can do it best,

Push it hard ; the margin is thin,

Just keep going, the power lies within...

The inspiration lies within... 

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

उड़ान : #TheFinishLine

"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve,

 not by the desire to beat others"

                                                                                   

                                                           -Ayn Rand

                  True indeed...a creative man only seeks to explore the vast expanse of possibilities and imbibe them to keep his ingenuity alive. What we can achieve with creativity is impossible to define and that’s the beauty of it. There can never be a finish line for imagination because every time innovation meets   accomplishment, inspiration is born.  Inspiration... that invigorates the  chain of creative ideas, a chronology... that sustains itself if fed with passion. Just let me be with myself and let the creativity flow...

उड़ने दो मेरे सपनों को, के घर इनका आकाश है,

मत जकड़ो इन्हें लकीरों में, के ध्येय इनका बस तलाश है;

 इनके जानिब संतोष नहीं, के हँसती इनकी कुछ ख़ास है,

मंज़िल से इनका क्या नाता , इनको चलने की प्यास है;

 के मंज़िल में क्या रखा है, गर सफ़र पे अपने नाज़ है,

 गीत कई गुनगुनाने हैं अभी, और समय ही अपना साज़ है...

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

हाल-ए-दिल : #Fool Me Twice

Only way to know if you can trust someone is to trust them...but sometimes trust is not the only reason that compels you to give them a potential chance to break your heart...sometimes it is love. The good thing about love is that it doesn’t calculate the outcome but hopes for the best one and this is the bad thing about it too...because this is not exactly what happens every time. But whatever happens...love always prevails...

उनकी हालत पे ग़म न कर, के दिलों का टूटना....तो दस्तूर है प्यार का,

 कभी डूब जाती है कश्ती, तो कभी दोष होता है मझधार का,

कभी हम ही समझ पाते नहीं, और दिल तोड़ देते हैं दिलदार का,

 दिल... टूट कर भी आहें भरता ही है, के मोहताज है ये किसी के प्यार का,

धड़कता है ये बस उसी के नाम से, और मौका दे ही बैठता है...फ़िर इकरार का,

 ये इश्क़ ही है और उसकी कोमलता, जो टूटे दिल को...फ़िर सजा देती है,

महकाती है इस जीवन को, और जीने की वजह देती है,

 मोहब्बत मौकों से उपर है , के इससे ही हर पल ख़ास है,

के गीत कई  गुनगुनाने हैं अभी, और समय ही हमारा साज़ है...

 

Well almost always...because for some people it just ends up being the most bitter of potions...

  

मुद्दतें बीती ख़ुशियों की चाह में, के हमने ग़म में भी मुस्कुराना सीख लिया, 

मिला ना कांधा भी जब इन आँसुओं को, हमने ख़ुद को ही मनाना सीख लिया...